Walking A Mile In Someone Else's Shoes
by Shell Lee
Summary: Be carefull what you wish for
1. 1

Walking A Mile In Someone Else's Shoes  
  
by Shell Lee  
  
'Uh oh, Tony's pissed,' Lucas thought. They'd been having fights more often than not lately. One would do or say something and that was it. The next thing you know they were yelling at each other. It was getting so bad that Bridger had ordered them to at least try and get along. It wasn't working out so well.   
  
This time it was different. They had been getting along. Lucas was almost having a good time, even. Then he had made one off hand comment and that was it.  
  
"I'm going for a swim." Lucas stayed silent as Tony grabbed his swim trunks and left. After living with the guy for so long he could see how close Tony was to pounding him through the floor.   
  
Lucas sat down hevly on Tony's bunk. How could he be so stupid?  
  
Dagwood poked his head in the door. "Mmm, is Tony ok?"  
  
"Yeah Dag, he's just a little mad because of something I said." Lucas was tired of the fights. More than that though he was angry right back at Tony. "You know, Dag, he's always complaining about how hard life is for him. Like it's so easy being me." Lucas hadn't meant to say that last part out loud. But it felt so good to just vent for a little while. "You know what I'd like to see him try being me for a day. Just one. Then we'll see who has the harder life.  
  
"Yeah, I wish he could be me for a day."  
  
***  
  
Tony stormed into the moon pool. He needed to calm down, pronto. Switching on the trasnlator-thingie he said, "Hey Darwin."  
  
"Tony mad."   
  
'Damn right I am,' Tony thought. "Yeah Tony's mad."  
  
"Why?" Darwin asked.  
  
"Lucas is being an ass agin. He just don't know how easy he's got it. He's still a kid with people who love him. Sometimes he says stuff and I just can't stay around him." Tony bent over to take off his shoes. "He moans and complains so much about his life. Like it's easy being me. I wish he could be me for just one day. Then we'll see who has it harder."  
  
***  
  
Someone had been watching the fight. Someone who could acctually do something about it. There was only one thing to say then. "Done."  
  
***  
  
The next day, Tony yawned, and stretched. Hearing something pop and feeling better for it, he swung his legs off the bunk.  
  
And promptly fell on the floor. "Wha?" His sleep muddled brain was trying to process. 'Someone moved my bunk on me.'  
  
"Keep it down. Some people are trying to sleep here." Lucas's voice came from some where beside him. Strange wasn't it supposed to come from above him?  
  
"Lucas."  
  
"Yes, and you're Tony." Figuring he couldn't get anymore sleep and was up for good Lucas sat up. And saw he wasn't in his bunk anymore. "What the?"  
  
Tony's mouth had finally caught up with his brain. "I feel funny." Sleep had thickened his accent so much that you could spread it with a knife. "And who moved my bunk?" So maybe he was still a little asleep.  
  
After Tony mentioned it Lucas felt it too. Things looked different, sounded different, hell the covers didn't feel like they should. "What's going on?"  
  
Tony got up and sat down on Lucas' bunk. Things felt different, but somehow they felt familiar too.   
  
"What are you doing?" Tony had lifted his shirt up and was looking at himself.  
  
"They're gone." He looked at Lucas. "They're gone."  
  
"What's gone?" He didn't hear Lucas though. He got back on the bunk and lifted Lucas's shirt up.  
  
"They're gone, and you have some. What the fuck is going on?" Lucas didn't have a clue as to what Tony was talking about.  
  
Until he looked down. "I have gills." And he did. There they were, on his sides, just like Tony's... "And you don't."  
  
"Shit." 


	2. 2

Walking A Mile In Someone Else's Shoes  
  
by Shell Lee  
  
"What happened to us?" Lucas asked.  
  
"How should I know?! I didn't do it."  
  
"I never said you did do it! I just wanted to know if you had any ideas on what happened." Lucas looked at Tony sitting in front of the computer. There was something wrong with this picture, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.  
  
"I don't know. What do you think?"  
  
"I don't know. That's why I asked you." Tony must have noticed something wrong with the way he was sitting because he turned the chair around, so he was straddling the back of it.  
  
Lucas stands up. "Maybe we switched bodies."  
  
"You look like you. Do I look like me?"  
  
"You look like you, too. Ok that's my one idea. Your turn." He sits down.  
  
"Oh shit." Tony got up from the chair and started pacing.  
  
"'Oh shit' what? You were supposed to come up with an idea."  
  
"I forgot I had an appointment with Wendy this morning. That's why I got up early." Tony got to the door and turned.  
  
"No this is a good thing."  
  
"How is it a good thing?"  
  
"We can go see Wendy. She'll help us."  
  
Tony turned and looked at Lucas. "Lucas, I hate to break this to you, but there is no help for us."   
  
"I meant with this physical thing. You know where I'm not quite in your body."  
  
"I knew that."   
  
***  
  
Wendy was sitting in with her back to the door when Lucas and Tony walked in. "Luke, you're late you know. I was beginning to believe that you wouldn't show." She stood up and turned. "Oh, hello Anthony. I thought you two were still at each other's throats."  
  
"Yeah, we worked out a problem or two. I got something I got to work on. Luke, come back to our room after you're done and we'll finish that talk." Tony walked right out the door.  
  
"Tony, wait! I'll be right back." Lucas went after Tony.   
  
"Sure take your time. It's not like I have anything else to do, today," Wendy mumbled under her breath as her patient ran out on her.  
  
Lucas caught up with Tony right out side the door. He grabbed Tony's arm to physically stop him from going any further. Not that he really could've stopped Tony if he was determined to go. "Tony, when I say wait, could you wait one moment? What are you going to do?"  
  
Tony checked to make sure they were alone in the hallway. "I got an idea on what happened."  
  
Lucas waited for the rest. "Well what is it?"   
  
"Huh, oh yeah. I think we ended up in some sort of alternate universe. You know like in those old sci-fi shows. I'm going to go check it out on the computer."  
  
"How are you going to check it out? You don't know how to use a computer."  
  
"You got my gills. I figure I got to have something of yours, right? So why not your computer skills?" Maybe Lucas should have Wendy look at his head while he was with her, because that actually made sense to him.   
  
"Ok. I'll come with you. We can decide what to do from there."  
  
"No. You go back in there with Wendy. I want to know what that rash is. It should be on your ass, so don't be surprised if she asked you to pull down your pants. You've had it for two weeks. I'll be in our room when you're done."  
  
"Tony, wait!"  
  
"See ya." Tony continued walking, ignoring Lucas' yells at him. After a few minutes of staring at where Tony went, Lucas decided to go back in. What was the worst that could happen?  
  
***  
  
Tony sat in front of Lucas' computer and stared at it. He just figured out he had no idea how to turn it on. Maybe he should've let Lucas come back. But that would've lead to a pissed off Dr. Smith, who was someone he didn't want to mess with.  
  
'Ok think Tony, you've seen Lucas do this hundreds of times. What did he do?' Tony's mind came up blank. Dumb ass ex-con Tony couldn't do anything right. Tony put his head in his hands, trying to figure what else he could do.   
  
During his little pity party one of his elbows slipped and hit the keyboard. The screen immediately came to life. The computer wasn't off only sleeping. He straightened up, like that was what he meant to do all along.  
  
Tony put his fingers on the key board, hoping that something would come to him to get at the information he wanted, unlike turning it on. It must've been his lucky day because, his hands seemed to know what they were doing and before he knew it there was his bio displayed on the screen. It had his name, and his parents names right, but that was it.  
  
This bio had him as some sort of child genus, graduating from Stanford University, magnum-cum-lade no less, at age 16.   
  
Tony closed his eyes. He could just see it. Standing in front of a huge crowd of people, dressed up in a gown. He could hear the band play some appropriate music as more people marched in, swaying side to side. Looking out over the crowd of proud family and friends, he didn't see either of the two people he wanted to be there most, his mother or father. Not that he had actually expected them to be there. They had each called ahead and told him days ago that they wouldn't be able to make it.  
  
Tony opened his eyes as a wave of loneliness washed over him. That was a bit too realistic for him. It was like he was calling this up from his memory. He hoped it wasn't a memory. That last thing he wanted was Lucas' life.  
  
***  
  
Lucas was laying face down, with his ass in the air. He was sure his face resemble a tomato by now, but Wendy hadn't said anything about it yet. He was really hoping she wouldn't, because he had no idea what to say. He wasn't sure if he should confide in her or not.  
  
He wasn't about to say anything about it though, since that rash really hurt when she was poking and prodding it.  
  
"Luke," he was starting to hate that name, "you know I think you and Anthony are more alike than either of you realizes."  
  
"Yeah right, and pigs fly."  
  
"You'd be surprised at what is possible."  
  
"But me and him? We're nothing alike."  
  
"Maybe not on the surface but underneath. I think you could learn something from each other."  
  
"What could I possibly learn from him?"  
  
"A little control, maybe how to think before you do something. Anthony could really use a big brother figure in his life. He hasn't had anyone since Ben Kreg left. I fear that he'll cut himself off from the world."  
  
"How would you know? You don't even know him." Ok this conversation just took a turn for the freaky. Wendy was talking about Tony like he was Lucas. Of course if Tony was right in his theory then that was exactly who Wendy thought she was talking to. Maybe he'd get an insight into how their Wendy thought of him.  
  
"I'm psychic remember? I keep picking up strong thoughts from the both of you. I'm glad you're getting along now. Just try not to rip each other apart?" Wendy secured the last bit of bandage over the open wound where she had taken a sample of it for further analysis. "Pull your shirt up. I want to take a look at your gills before you go."  
  
Lucas pulled his shirt up. "This isn't going to hurt is it?"   
  
"Luke, you've done this before. This time is going to be no different." Wendy grabbed an endoscope off the table next to her. Lucas took one look at it and wondered where she was going to put that. 


End file.
